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Updated on March 25, 2018: Five months after I wrote this original blog (November 2015), he sat in the back yard shown here and put a bullet in his head. I can’t believe he did this to me, and to the children. If you have ever thought about killing yourself, bear in mind, it destroys those who are left behind. I don’t even know who I am anymore. I see blogs like this and I think, “Oh, this is who I was BEFORE my life was ruined. I remember that girl. She made gratitude lists every morning, and walked around the house every day praising God for His goodness.” Now I struggle to brush my teeth without crying and stumble around moment by moment, hoping that it will get better.

Three years ago, I installed my first "solar system" on my little back yard shed.

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I purchased this "Thunderbolt" solar panel kit from Harbor Freight. Thunderbolt strikes me as a silly name, but it's a good solid product. Each panel produces 15 watts.

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This Spring, we had a new roof put on the house and shed, and after we had that work done, I couldn't bear to put those solar panels back on the pretty new roof.

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Instead, I decided maybe it was time to upgrade a little bit. Pre-new roof, I had two sets of three panels atop the little shed roof. Each set of three produced 45 watts. The Thunderbolt solar panels were amorphous thin-film panels (older technology) while the newer panel (shown here on the side) is a crystalline panel which produces 100-watts with a single panel.

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And it looks snappy, too. The panel is manufactured by Renogy.

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I mounted the solar panel to the wall using a 360-degree flat-screen TV mount. It was on sale at Amazon for $19 and was exactly what I needed. This model has a feature (probably undesirable to many) that after the arm is pivoted into position, it can be tightened into place so it never moves again.

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And mounting it on the side means I didn't need to drill fresh holes in that expensive new roof.

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Inside, there were some upgrades too. I've now got three 12-volt deep cycle marine batteries. The battery on the floor is the one I use for my trolling motor, when I go out on the lake.

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Prior to last week, I was using this MPPT solar charge controller. This little jewel cost $130 on Amazon and lasted only five months before it died. And it didn't die easy. It took out one of my digital meters when it went. Plus, it didn't just stop charging the battery; it was actually draining the batteries down to 4 volts. MPPT stands for Maximum Power Point Tracking.

Shown above is the PWM (pulse width modulation) solar charge controller than came with the 100-watt Renogy panel. We'll see how it does. It's the dirt-poor cousin of the MPPT solar charge controller. If it lasts more than five months, it'll be my new hero.

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With those three batteries, I was able to upgrade the inverter a bit, too. Shown above is a 1600-watt inverter. The green display shows the current charge on the battery. The now-dead meter above showed the incoming voltage on the solar panels.

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And I added a few lights, too. Inside, I have four LED 12-volt lights. I mounted this one outside. It's also available at Amazon for the low, low price of $11.97 (or was). This small fixture puts out a surprising amount of light.

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The old solar set-up was a lot of fun, and it lives on at Milton's house (my buddy and next-door neighbor). Three years later, it's still performing like a champ.

As has become our annual tradition, hubby cooked our 18-pound turkey on his Weber Charcoal Grill. It was one of the most delicious birds I’ve ever enjoyed. The best part was that it was cooked 100% “off the grid.”

The charcoal is a no-brainer. Lots of people know how to use charcoal to cook their meat.

These three photovoltaic panels convert the sun’s rays into electricity, which is stored in a 12-volt deep-cycle marine battery. The inverter (shown below) converts the 12-volt system into 120 volts, suitable for household use.

One of the most interesting features of Ham Radio is that its operators are expected to have access to alternative energy sources during times of regional or national emergency.

After all, what good is it to have a Ham Radio if you can’t use it when the power goes out?

For as many years as I can remember, I have been utterly fascinated by alternative energy sources. Capturing a tiny drop of the sun’s massive nuclear-reactive power (386 billion billion megaWatts) is a fascinating concept.

After several tours of Mike Neal’s very own “Radio Shack,” and after receiving several helpful tutorials on this topic from Mr. Neal (and lots of specific guidance), I was ready to take the plunge.

My “solar project” started in earnest about a month ago when Mike sent me an email to let me know that Harbor Freight was having a sale on solar panels. This was the very set that Mike had at his house and he said it was “a good solar set-up for the money.”

With a $30 coupon (gifted to me from a fellow Ham), I got the $229 solar panels for $159. (The original price for the panels was $229, with a sale price of $189. The $30 coupon got me to $159.)

Because I’m highly allergic to crowds and shopping areas and loud noises and small children and fluorescent lights, I paid the extra six bucks to have the unit shipped directly to my house. It was well worth it.

It took about 12 hours to install the whole rig, and my oh my, it was a fun project. And watching those photovoltaic cells turn the sunlight into electricity is every bit as fascinating as I’d thought it would be.

If I were queen of the world (and it shouldn’t be long now), I’d recommend that every homeowner in America have a set of these on their roof. It was a great learning experience. And I’ve shared all the nitty-gritty details below.

The little shed in our back yard is now electrified, thanks to these three solar panels on the roof. Each panel produces 15 watts, for a total of 45 watts.

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I'm not sure why a corporation would adopt the name "THUNDERBOLT" for their solar products. Nonetheless, it's a sound value and seems to be a well-made product.

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The solar panels were set on a 2x4 which was fastened with screws into the roof and painted flat black. The PVC frame was secured to the 2x4 with 3/4" metal pipe clamps. This will enables us to change the angle of the panels (for winter and summer) without any major disassembling.

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This shot shows the panels and 2x4 more closely. In a mere 12 hours, the solar panels have already been assaulted by both birds (far left) and pine straw (bottom).

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Figuring out how to get the leads into the little shed took some thinking. In the end, I decided to drill a hole (3/4") through the 2x4 (and the roofing sheathing below). I reasoned that it'd be easier to patch a clean hole through a piece of lumber rather than trying to patch a hole in an irregular surface (such as an old roofing shingle).

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Using stretchy weatherproofing tape (which probably has a much better name), I bound those three wires (from the three solar panels) together and fed them through the hole into the shed's interior. I purposefully used a lot of tape so it would fill the 3/4" hole. For the tiny gaps that remained, I used a compound putty substance (again, don't know the name but it looks a lot like Silly Putty). Back in the day, a contractor friend told me it was called "Dum Dum" because you use it to patch a dumb mistake. However, I'd like to point out that it should be called "Smart Smart" in this particular application.

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Inside, the wires drop down from above and into the controller (right side on the shelf above the battery). From there, the wires go into the 12-volt deep cycle Marine battery. Another set of wires carries the power from the battery back to the inverter (left side on the shelf). The inverter turns the 12-volt current into 120 volts (for household use).

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The controller that came with the solar panels is quite impressive. The digital display is large and easy to read, and reports on the battery power (12.4 volts shown here). For $159, it's a pretty fancy set-up and a darn good deal.

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Another nice bonus that came with this set are two of these 12-volt LED lights. They do a good job of illuminating the dark corners of our little shed. They plug into the front of the controller (as shown in the picture of the controller above).

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The inverter (shown above) was not included in the kit. This 750-watt inverter also came from Harbor Freight. I also got it on sale. As I recall, it was $69 on sale for $49, and I found a $10 coupon. Final price $39.

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Part of the problem I encountered whilst doing this project was, despite my reading and studying, I didn't understand a whole lot about how all these things work together. I asked Mike Neal, "What's the difference between a 200-watt inverter and a 750-watt inverter?" Fact is, a 200-watt inverter was whole lot cheaper. Mike explained, "Think of the battery as a bucket full of water. You can draw that water out with a swizzle stick or a milk-shake straw. The 200-watt inverter is a swizzle stick. The 750-watt inverter is a milk-shake straw."

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The other helper in this project was my wonderful neighbor, Mike Mancini. I told him that I needed a deep-cycle marine battery and he got me a good deal on one at a local marine parts supply company. Plus, he gave me a ride out to the place and then hefted it out of his truck and out to my shed. This battery weighs about 50 pounds. I set it up on cinder blocks to make it easier to access, and I put the OSB down because I'd heard that batteries might discharge if placed directly atop masonry.

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You may notice the fine-looking wires shown in the picture above (of the battery). I bought these booster cables at General Dollar Store and paid $5 for the whole affair. I then cut the wires off from the clips and used them for the controller-to-battery run and the battery-to-inverter run. It's 10-gauge stranded copper wire.

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The last part of the project required anchoring the panels to the roof. In that the panels sit so high above the roof, they'll become a dandy sail in strong winds. Our solution was to tether the pvc frame to the opposite side of the shed. For the tether, I used 10-gauge stranded copper grounding wire. May seem like a waste, but I recently bought a spool of it to ground a couple antennas and masts and such. Seems I had about 400 feet left over from those other projects.

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Close-up of the tether on the PVC frame. It's not super taut, but it doesn't need to be. It's anchored into the steep side of the shed roof with an eye-bolt.

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Hubby and I spent countless hours figuring out the correct angle for these panels. There were many factors such as the big old tall trees in our yard. After the "Solar System" was all set up, we were both AMAZED and pleased to see that it started charging immediately. What was so amazing? It was a dark, cold, gloomy overcast day. I can hardly wait to see how it does with a little sunlight!

My parents moved to Portsmouth in 1954, so that my father could start his new job at Skippy Peanut Butter. Their first home was on Gladstone Avenue in Park Manor. (Seems apropos, as one of my favorite Sears Homes is The Gladstone.)

In 1957, they moved to Waterview. Using my mother’s Veteran’s Benefits (she was in the WAVES), Mother and Father obtained a VA loan and purchased 515 Nansemond Street. They paid $17,500 for the house. In 1971, they paid off the mortgage.

In 1978, I moved out to marry Tom Thornton, and we bought a house in Portsmouth. My mother remained in the house until 1985, when she sold it for $65,000, and moved into a duplex on Orange Street (in Waterview).

From 1985-2006, I lived in St. Louis, and when I returned to Hampton Roads, I married a fellow who works for the city of Norfolk, but I’m still a Portsmouth girl - through and through.

When Sears Homes became my life, I had a lot of fun finding these “hidden treasures” in Portsmouth. Scroll on down to see a few of the many pretties in P-town!

Here's a picture of our family homestead in Waterview (on Nansemond Street). The photo was taken in 1957, shortly after our family purchased the house. This is *not* a Sears Home, but it's the house where I was born and raised.

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Waterview is home to several kit homes, such as this Sears Kilbourne (1928 catalog).

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And what a fine-looking Kilbourne it is! This house is in Waterview, about 1/2 mile from my family home at 515 Nansemond Street.

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Even closer to my house in Waterview is this kit home, The Marlboro. This house is not a Sears House, but it was sold by another mail-order company known as Lewis Manufacturing. The Marlboro was their biggest model, and we have one on High Street in Waterview!

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This is an old picture (from about 2004). I was unable to get a more modern photo because of the beautiful landscaping that now surrounds the house. Yes, it's definitely a Marlboro, and it's the house where Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker lived in the 1960s when they worked at WYAH.

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And another Waterview kit home - the Sears Lynnhaven (1938 catalog).

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There are TWO Lynnhavens on Grayson Street in Waterview, and both are in beautiful condition. The other Lynnhaven is brick and pretty well covered by trees and bushes.

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Also in Waterview is one of my favorite pattern book houses in all the world. "Pattern Book" houses were a little different from "kit homes." With a pattern book, you'd select the house of your dreams and send in your money and you'd receive the blueprints and a list of building materials needed to erect the house. You were on your own to buy the building materials. With kit homes, the whole kit and caboodle came right to your train station. This pattern book house is a beauty, and the extant home in Waterview is a perfect match.

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And it's even painted the same colors! All the details are perfect!

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And just across the footbridge (on Riverside Drive), you'll find this Sears Glenn Falls.

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Ever since I was a little girl riding my bike around the neighborhood, I loved and admired this house. And now that I'm all growed up, I realize it's a Sears House!

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Westhaven has several kit homes, too, such as this grand old "Roberts" (offered by Gordon Van Tine). Gordon Van Tine was also a large national company that - like Sears - sold kit homes through a mail-order catalog.

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This "Roberts" is in beautiful shape, and sits on one of those quiet, tree-canopied roads that are so prevalent in P-town. Anyone know the owners? I'd love to see the interior.

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Another favorite in Westhaven is this Sears Westly (shown here in the 1916 catalog).

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Close-up of the Westly.

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It's an older photo (about 2003), but what a beautiful match! Notice that the house has a slate roof? Unusual, but not unheard of. Buckingham Slate weighs about 1,400 pounds per square (10' by 10' section), so the roof has to be built up to accomodate the weight.

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This Aladdin Lamberton is in Westhaven, not far from the Sears Westly (shown above). Aladdin was yet another mail-order company that sold entire kit homes through catalogs. Aladdin had a massive mill in Wilmington, NC which might explain why we have so many Aladdins here in Hampton Roads.

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This is one of my favorite "finds," as it's such a beautiful match to the catalog picture above.

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The Aladdin Marsden was one of Aladdin's most popular homes.

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This Aladdin Marsden (in Westhaven) has had a lot of "improvements," but it's still easily identifiable as a Marsden.

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Portsmouth has one of the prettiest Marsdens I've ever seen. This beauty is in Port Norfolk.

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The Aladdin Pomona was another very popular house. It was a classic bungalow with lots of attractive features. Personally, I love the diamond muntins.

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Located in Waterview, this Pomona has been remodeled, but it's definitely a little Pomona hidden under all those extra square feet of living area.

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This Pomona is in Westhaven. Sadly, I didn't have my chain saw with me when I got these photos, so the landscaping is presenting a bit of an obstacle. Remember I mentioned Tom Thornton above? Tom's aunt and her husband (Betty Beal and her hubby Bobby) lived in this house for many years.

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And moving on down London Blvd, there are a few Sears Homes down in West Park View, too.

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This Attleboro is in West Park View, and it's a real find. In all my travels, I've seen only FOUR Attleboros and to see that we have one in Portsmouth is pretty darn exciting!

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Also in West Park View there's a Sears Elsmore.

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This Elsmore is on Elm Street, which is pretty cool. There's another Elsmore on Turnpike Blvd, tucked away behind the trees.

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The Oak Park is a Dutch Colonial offered by Sears in the late 1920s and into the 30s.

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And there's an Oak Park in West Park View.

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Just around the corner from the Oak Park is another unusual Sears Dutch Colonial, The Montrose.

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And it's a fine, fine house!

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And these folks appreciate their beautiful Sears Montrose!

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At the other end of Elm Street, there's an Aladdin Shadowlawn.

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I wonder if these folks know what a treasure they have?

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There's another Shadowlawn in Port Norfolk minus the porte cochere.

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In Prentiss Place, there's a Harris Brothers house (yet another national kit home company). There are six national kit home companies, and Portsmouth has houses from five of them. Pretty darn impressive for a "small" town. :)

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Unfortunately, I could only get a shot from the one side, but it's a Harris Brother's Model #J-161. The other side has the polygon bay (as shown on the page above).

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Surprisingly, there are two Sears Alhambras in Portsmouth.

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This Alhambra (looking fairly decent despite the replacement vinyl windows) is in the 1500-block of County Street, It's surrounded by a sea of empty lots, so one wonders, how many Sears Homes bit the dust when this area was "redeveloped"?

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In 2002, I gave a talk on Sears Homes in Port Norfolk. Five people showed up. Two of them were the married couple that owned this Alhambra in Craddock. They have me the full tour, and it's a dandy of a house - inside and out.

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And also in Craddock, there's a Sears Uriel.

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It's been through some tough times, but it's still identifiable as a Sears Uriel.